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After reading up on the power of content marketing, you successfully finished writing the most awesome blog post for your company blog. Now that your blog post has been published for the world to see, you may think you can just sit back and watch as your blog generates traffic overnight. “How could it not?” you say. Considering the fact that you wrote some pretty groundbreaking content, right?

As amazing as that sounds, it couldn’t be further from reality. Publishing your content is only the beginning of your blog’s life cycle. Even the greatest content can’t market itself on its own. Here are 12 surefire ways you can get the most value out your blog post after publication.

1. Optimize your blog post for SEO

After your blog is published, it immediately falls into the abyss of the World Wide Web. The only way your post can be relinquished is through keyword optimization. Optimizing your blog post for SEO helps search engines locate your content, no matter where it is on the web. Do some keyword research using Google Keyword Planner to determine which terms or phrases you plan on using when optimizing your post. Always remember: never force keywords to fit into sentences where they don’t flow naturally.

2. Share your blog post on social media

The easiest way for your blog post to gain traction is by sharing it on social media. Keep in mind, however, that not all social media platforms are created equal. For example, Instagram is great for sharing photos and videos but it doesn’t lend itself to sharing blog content very well. In addition, if you plan on sharing your blog post on Twitter, make sure you’re sharing your content more than once so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle on your followers’ timeline.

3. Send out a company newsletter

If your company regularly sends out a company newsletter, include a link to your latest blog post within the email. Your greatest target audience is sitting right there in your email list. By consistently updating your corporate blog, recipients can anticipate fresh content on a regular basis.

4. Use social bookmarking sites

Social bookmarking works in the same way you would bookmark a website for future reference. The difference, however, is that these bookmarks live online in a public database, not on your computer. Some of the top social bookmarking sites include Reddit, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Delicious.

These sites are heavily dependent upon engagement. To use them effectively, share your blog in communities that are related to the blog topic to generate the most engagement. If you’re unable to find your niche on these sites, stick to sharing your content via social media.

5. Syndicate your content

Content syndication is the process of submitting your blog, site, or video content to third-party sites. Syndicating your content can help drive more traffic to your blog post and increase online visibility for your company. Content syndication works best for businesses that are able to produce valuable, original content. It should also be done in moderation. Thanks to Panda 4.0, your traffic could potentially be penalized if you get too carried away submitting your company’s blog content for syndication.

6. Transform your blog post into an infographic

Just because your blog post may have been written months ago, doesn’t mean it no longer has value. Take the information in your blog post and turn it into an engaging infographic. You can search for free infographic templates online or build one from scratch using Canva.

7. Encourage your employees to share company blogs

The simplest way to get your blog content shared on a large scale very quickly is by having your employees share it via social media or any social bookmarking sites they might use for leisure. Just think, you could get 10 shares in as little as 10 minutes!

8. Repurpose your content by writing a sequel

Just because a blog topic was published once, doesn’t mean it can’t be reused. The trick is to either supplement the previous blog post with new information or write a complementary blog post that acts as sequel. Present a fresh new spin on an oldie but goodie.

9. Use your blog post as a source in social media posts

It’s easy for your blog posts to collect after publishing them if you’re not careful. Instead, use previous content as a reference in your company’s social media posts. The blog post can help to answer a question presented as well as invite your followers or fans to learn more about a specific subject.

10. Share your blog post with relevant online communities

Sometimes, sharing your blog post on your company’s social media page isn’t enough. Try sharing your content with relevant online communities who are most likely to engage with it. The first place you can start is Google+. There are thousands of communities on Google+ alone. You could also share your content in relevant groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and social bookmarking sites like Reddit.

11. Develop relationships with other businesses or individuals online

You know the saying it’s not what you know, it’s who you know? This same principle applies to your content marketing strategy. Develop relationships with other businesses or individuals who could potentially help share your content. If your blog post gets in the hand of the right influencer, it can set off a chain reaction generating increased traffic to your company blog.

12. Track your progress with URL tracking

Even months after publishing your blog post, you should continually monitor its progress. This will help you determine what worked well and what didn’t work so well. You can also apply this information to future blog posts. Google Analytics is able to tell you what pages on your website get the most traffic as well as how long visitors stay on that page. If you find that visitors are frequenting a specific blog post on a regular basis, take some time to figure why it has been successful. Rinse and repeat for every blog post moving forward.

With these tips, you will be well on your way to becoming a content marketing expert! For all your other digital needs, Orlando digital marketing agency Chatter Buzz Media is here to help.